The Great Simplification
Systems-level conversations about energy, ecology, economics and the constraints shaping civilization's future.
- Host
- Nate Hagens
- Published by
- The Great Simplification
- Topic
- Policy, Governance & Systems Change
- Format
- Interview
- Orientation
- Systems Change
- Themes
- Resilience, Systems Thinking
- Made for
- Professional / Practitioner, General Public, Corporate Leader
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Latest episodes
Newest first
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30 Sept 2026 · 92 min
Climate Uncertainty: The Coolest Year for the Rest of Our Lives? with Zeke Hausfather
The El Niño now building in the tropical Pacific is unlike anything in the historical record, and it's arriving on top of decades of warming. Together, they could push global temperatures to roughly 1.8°C (3.2ºF) above pre-industrial levels next year, offering a preview of what may become the new normal within a decade. As the rate of warming continues to accelerate and public attention swings between alarm and fatigue, how can we clearly understand where the planet is actually headed and what it will take to adapt? In this episode, Nate is joined by climate scientist Zeke Hausfather to break
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25 Sept 2026 · 15 min
A State of the World Address: The Climate Speech We'll Probably Never Hear | Frankly 160
On the heels of Climate Week, Nate poses a thought experiment: What would a world leader's speech sound like if the difficult truths underpinning global heating – which are politically unsayable due to donors, borders, electoral campaigns, and other incentives – were laid bare to the public? Posing as this hypothetical world leader, Nate traces modern prosperity back to the extraordinary inheritance of ancient sunlight we discovered in the form of fossil fuels. Their extraction and depletion have made today's civilization possible, while simultaneously bringing forth dire consequences for Eart
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23 Sept 2026 · 67 min
The Escalation Trap: Is America's Strategy in Iran Backfiring?
The United States, a global superpower for the last several decades, is now locked into a battle for control over the region with the bulk of the world's remaining fossil fuel reserves. Despite U.S. military strength, Iran is not backing down, equipped with a new era of military technology. What happens if the U.S. strategy backfires against its leadership's intention, and what are the larger implications for the balance of geopolitical power? In this episode, Nate welcomes military historian and political scientist Robert Pape for an in-the-moment breakdown of the Iran war's trajectory. Drawi